"david lebovitz" news and stories

Ready for Dessert
By David Lebovitz
Photographs by Maren Caruso
Ten Speed Press -- 2010
Buy it on Amazon

This is the Slinky of cookbooks. I've been paging back and forth, back and forth, mesmerized, spurred on each time I land on a silvery endpaper. It's an enticing, beautiful book with charm and know-how. But this book is not for a coffee table; I'd put it on a pedestal.

See what we tested and whether it's worth buying after the jump.

Bacon has become the little black dress of the food world -- throw it into any dish and it's fabulous. From old-school bacon and eggs, B.L.T. and quiche Lorraine to spaghetti carbonara, we've paraded full-throttle into bacon mania. L.A. food critic Jonathan Gold, a baconista practically from birth, wrote in a recent review of restaurant Fig that it serves "bacon-wrapped bacon, which is a warning shot fired over the heaving bow of S.S. Food." Just a guess, but there's probably a waiting list to crew on that tub.

Meanwhile, when it's not being wrapped in itself, bacon shows its sweet side. In his Great Book of Chocolate, Chez Panisse pastry alum David Lebovitz candies bacon and crumbles it into chocolate chip cookies, inspiring bloggers stickygooeycreamychewy and traceysculinaryadventures (who shot this photo) to give it a go, and share the recipe. Brown sugar is sprinkled over the bacon and it's baked until caramelized, and when added to the cookies it supplies just a wee hint of salty, bacony goodness. Remember: little black dress. It works.

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Photo: Amazon.com.

'The Perfect Scoop'
Recipes by David Lebovitz
Photographs by Lara Hata
Ten Speed Press -- 2007
Buy it on Amazon

Clinging to the very last bit of warm weather, we hoped that making several batches of ice cream would encourage Mother Nature to hold out on cooler weather for a little longer. David Lebovitz, a well-known pastry chef, received much of his training at Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in California. Now based in Paris, Lebovitz merges all things sweet and makes them manageable for the home cook. "The Perfect Scoop" is a testament to how ice cream should be made: creamy, sweet, savory and with unlimited creativity.

While ice cream takes center stage, Lebovitz also includes recipes for sorbets, sherbets, granitas, sauces and toppings. Boasting both classics, such as Malted Milk and Tin Roof Ice Cream, and more modern flavors of Crème Fraiche, Goat Cheese and Roquefort Honey Ice Creams, this book lends itself to a wide audience. Strawberry and Mojito Granitas will be a big hit at the next autumn barbecue, and adults and children alike with be excited to see the bright fruit sherbet and sorbet combinations.

See what we tested and find out whether the book's worth buying after the jump.

Towering, craggy and full of inviting nooks and crannies, this mountain of white chocolate and sour cherry scones is one that cries out to be scaled.

Baked by the estimable David Lebovitz, they are, as OutKast might sing, the prototype for the perfect scone, studded with an abundance of cherries, dusted with just the enough sugar for a satisfying crunch and harboring untold depths of white chocolate.

Lebovitz admits to devouring almost two batches in the space of a week; based upon the evidence presented above, who could blame him?

[Via David Lebovitz]

• Chef Peter Irving of St. Alphonzo's Kitchen shares his Grandma Sis' Macaroni Salad.
• Barbecuing isn't all about the meats; it's also about the sauces and toppings. The Globe looks into which Boston restaurants serve exceptional sauces.
• Anybody who's eaten Chinese skewered lamb or Korean pulgogi knows that grilling isn't just for barbecues and warm weather, as this look at grilled Asian foods attests.
• A Q&A with David Lebovitz about his new book, "The Sweet Life in Paris."
• Talk about high-tech: Barcelona's Monvinic displays their daunting wine list on PC tablets, and pairs it with truly market-fresh food.

More stories after the jump.